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| Two women sit at the UNMISS base in Rumbek, Lakes State, South Sudan. Photo credits: Jessica Hatcher/IRIN |
A regional assembly of heads of states and governments meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa Thursday authorised the prompt deployment of a Protection and Deterrent Force (PDF) from the region to help restore peace and stability in South Sudan.
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni attends a session during the 25th Extraordinary Summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on South Sudan in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa March 13, 2014. (Photo Reuters//Tiksa Negeri)
The PDF, a communiqué issued during the 25th extraordinary session of the regional bloc (IGAD) stated, would operate with a clear mandate and operational guidelines as part of the IGAD Monitoring and Verification Mechanism in the country.
Regional leaders, however, called upon the United Nations Security Council and the African Union to provide all the necessary support, calling on the parties to ensure the progressive withdrawal of all armed groups and all allied forces invited by either side from the theatre of operations as per the ceasefire agreement, in accordance with its 31 January communiqué.
"(..) calls on all partners to redouble their efforts to support the robust Monitoring and Verification Mechanism and the deployment of the Protection and Deterrent Force (PDF) as part of the MVM to protect the latter and other infrastructures in South Sudan," the communiqué obtained by Sudan Tribune partly reads.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn chaired the meeting, which was attended by South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and his counterparts
Source: allAfrica
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